Various tumor related diseases inflict man. Considerable research has been devoted to oncology and antitumor measures. Tumors are common in a variety of mammals and the prevention, control of the growth and regression of tumors in mammals is important to man. The term tumor refers to abnormal masses of new tissue growth which is discordant with the economy of the tissue of origin or the host's body as a whole.
Tumors inflict mammals and man with a variety of disorders and conditions including various forms of cancer and resultant cancerous cachexia. Cancerous cachexia refers to the symptomatic discomfort that accompanies the infliction of a mammal with a tumor. These symptoms include weakened condition of the inflicted mammal as evidenced by, for example, weight loss. The seriousness of cancer is well known, e.g., cancer is second only to heart and vascular diseases as a cause of death in man.
Considerable research and resources have been devoted to oncology and antitumor measures including chemotherapy. While certain methods and chemical compositions have been developed which aid in inhibiting, remitting or controlling the growth of tumors, new methods and antitumor chemical compositions are needed.
Viral diseases also inflict man, plants, insects, and animals. The prevention and control of viral diseases has important health and economic implications.
Viral diseases contribute to inflictions in humans including common colds, herpes and cancer and the importance of their control is obvious. Also important is the control of viral diseases in animals for economic reasons as well as the ability of such animals to become virus reservoirs or carriers which facilitate the spreading of viral diseases to humans. Viral plant diseases have been known to have a disruptive effect on the cultivation of fruit trees, tobacco, and various vegetables. Insect viral diseases are also of interest because of the insects' ability to transfer viral diseases to humans.
The prevention and control of viral diseases is thus of prime importance to man and considerable research has been devoted to antiviral measures. Certain methods and chemical compositions have been developed which aid in inhibiting, controlling or destroying viruses but additional methods and antiviral chemical compositions are needed.
Marine organisms and particularly marine sponges are a potential source for chemically and biologically interesting molecules of great diversity. Some such molecules derived from sponges are described in Scheuer, P. J. Ed., Marine Natural Products, Chemical and Biological Perspectives; Academic Press; New York, 1978-1983; Vol. I-V; Faulkner, D. J. Natural Products Reports 1984, Vol. 1, 551-598; and P. Kazlauskas, P. T. Murphy, R. J. Wells, K. Noack, W. F. Oberhansli, and P. Schonholzer, Aust. J. Chem., 32, 867-880 (1979). This article discloses various tetracyclic furanoditerpenes isolated from sponges of the genus Spongia from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Also disclosed therein at page 869 and designated as composition 11 is a tetrol which was obtained by reduction of spongiatriol triacetate. No antitumor and antiviral activity is disclosed for these furanoditerpenes. The entire disclosures of these references are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
It has now been found that certain new furanoditerpenoid compositions derived from extracts of the marine sponge, Spongia, sp. possess useful antitumor and antiviral activity. It has also been found by the present inventors that certain of the known spongiadiols described in the above-referenced article of Kazlauskas et al. possess useful antitumor and antiviral activity.